


a little help

by onthelasttrain



Category: Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, tol!cady smol!janis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:14:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25754158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onthelasttrain/pseuds/onthelasttrain
Summary: Sometimes, Janis isn't as though as she looks. Sometimes, she needs a little help. And sometimes that help comes in the form of her jungle freak girlfriend.
Relationships: Cady Heron/Janis Sarkisian
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	a little help

**Author's Note:**

> my brain said to me one day "what if tol!cady gave teeny!janis a piggy back ride?" and then this fic happened.
> 
> Danie!Cady, English!Janis

Cady has always said there’s nothing she’d ever change about Janis. That every little thing about her-her prickly exterior and loud voice, her obnoxious laugh and habit of bursting into song whenever she feels like it-they all make up her, and Cady loves and adores every piece of her. So no, if you were to ask Cady Heron what she’d change about her girlfriend, nine times out of ten she’d smile and simply say ‘nothing at all’.

But then come days when Janis has the brilliant idea of climbing up a tree to sketch the skyline, falls out of said tree and breaks her leg, and then just for a second, Cady thinks that maybe she’d want Janis to be a little more cautious than she is.

Which is why now, she’s in Janis’ kitchen with her girlfriend sitting at the table and glaring at the cast on her leg, her crutches abandoned on the floor before Cady picks them up and places them against the chair. That only makes Janis glare harder.

Cady bites back a laugh. Janis is kind of adorable when she’s grumpy. All puffed out cheeks and wide eyes and pouted lips that can’t even be tough in dark purple lipstick.

“Don’t look at me with that face,” she mumbles, which only makes her want to laugh even harder. The phrase ‘you’re so cute when you’re mad’ definitely applies here. Janis crosses her arms over her chest and deliberately turns her head away from Cady, the one leg that isn’t in a cast swinging freely. Seconds pass in silence until Cady gives into the twinge of guilt in her chest and sits down in the chair beside her, trying her best to catch her girlfriend’s eye. Her head is turned so far away it’s almost at 180 degrees.

“Janis,” she sighs. “Come on. I know it’s not me you’re mad at.” Nothing. She just keeps swinging her leg. “Look, I know you’re not happy about this. But you… You can’t just ignore me because you’re annoyed at yourself.” She doesn’t reply, and her face remains turned away from her. The novelty quickly begins to wear out and Cady does her best not to be irritated. “Come on, Jan, talk to me. Or are you really going to give me the silent treatment?”

Janis’ lips roll into a thin line, her shoulders shake, and it takes all Cady’s control not to slap her across the face. She settles for punching her shoulder instead.

“You little-”

“I’m sorry!” Janis replies between giggles. “I wanted to see how long I could keep it up!”

“You’re not funny,” Cady tells her, despite the grin on her face. She cover’s Janis’ hand with hers, softly squeezing her fingers. “Are you okay?”

“Fine. Doesn’t even hurt.”

“That isn’t what I meant, and you know it,” she replies, raising an eyebrow at her. Janis rolls her eyes, so quickly that if Cady had blinked she’d have missed it entirely and plasters a grin onto her face.

“I’m fine. I mean really, how hard can these things be?” She grabs one of the crutches and examines it, using the end to poke Cady’s stomach.

“They hurt more than they look like they do,” she scolds, slapping it away, much to Janis’ amusement. Seventeen going on seven, that’s how Damian describes her.

“So I’ve got a weapon,” she says, a glint in her eye that spells trouble. She jabs the crutch in mid-air, snarling at her invisible enemy. “No one’s going to come at me now.”

“Hardly anyone came at you before,” Cady points out. “Here, you want anything?”

“Um, it’s my kitchen,” she reminds her indignantly. _Oh crap_ is all Cady can think. Janis pushes herself up and before Cady can stop her, grabs both her crutches, wriggling her fingers as she grabs the handles. Pride practically shines on her face as she stands there, using them to push herself up so her good foot doesn’t touch the ground. “Huh? What do you think, Caddy?”

“Adorable,” she replies, laughter lacing her voice. “Now back to my actual question-”

“I will get us the refreshments,” she tells her. “Thank you very much. You just sit there on your little cute tush.” She hops over to her, and to her credit she’s steady, lets go of one crutch and tucks it beneath her arm before tapping her nose. “Boop.”

“That took longer than necessary.”

“Silence,” she commands. Resigned, Cady watches as she hobbles over to the fridge, silently struggling to keep a grip on the crutches and taking a moment between getting to the fridge and opening it, no doubt to catch her breath.

“What kind of Capri-Sun do you want?” she asks over her shoulder. “We have fruit punch and apple.”

“You really are a permanent child,” Cady says. “Fruit punch, thanks.”

“Says the girl who has a toy lion on her backpack,” she points out. She nudges the fridge closed with her shoulder and immediately finds a challenge. Three things to hold, only two hands. The two drinks sit in her left hand, her crutch dangling from her arm. It’s in this moment Cady sees a flicker of the side Janis likes to keep hidden; the one who maybe needs a little help sometimes, the one who relies on others. Who trusts them. It’s no secret to Cady why Janis hides it. Even if she doesn’t need to, least of all around her.

“Here, give them to m-”

“No ma’am,” she says, shaking her head at Cady’s outstretched hand. “I um… I’ve got this. I’ve got this, watch.” She places the pouches between her lips and grabs her other crutch before giving Cady a triumphant look. “See?” she asks, muffled by the aluminium pouches in her mouth.

“Genius.”

Janis hobbles back over to the table, still shaking in this unfamiliar way of walking, and deposits the pouches on the table, hands free.

“You’re like a puppy.”

“IN the way that I’m adorable and precious and you want to give me belly rubs and cuddles?” she asks. Cady’s insides melt, especially when she bats her eyes like that. This girl may be the death of her, if she isn’t the death of herself first.

“Mm, maybe,” she admits. She leans in and gives her a surprise peck on the cheek.

“You know, we might enjoy these better up in my room,” Janis says, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. “On my bed. With my laptop.” She lowers her voice and leans across the table with her fist on her chin. “Sharing the same headphones.”

“Did the hospital give you any drugs while you were there?”

“Quite possibly.” Cady laughs and Janis breaks with her, the two giggling in the low light of her kitchen.

“Come on, space alien,” Cady says. “Let’s go then.”

Janis is fine, if still slow and unstable, as they go down the hall, but it’s the stairs that bring them to a halt. Her mouth opens and closes wordlessly, the expression so strange for the bold and brilliant Janis Sarkisian. Flat surfaces like the hall are one thing. This is another. Her eyes are trained on the top, her expression hardening as she places one crutch on the first step, then the next and pushes herself up. At least she let Cady hold the drinks.

“You okay?” she asks carefully.

“Fine.” Janis’ voice, by contrast, is hard and ragged and near fully exerted. And that was just the first step. The climb may not kill her, but it may well kill her spirit, especially with Cady watching. Cady cocks her head and looks up the stairs. They may as well be Kilimanjaro to Janis. She would know, she’s climbed the mountain with her parents-

Bingo. That memory gives Cady possibly the best idea she ever had.

“Hey, Janis,” she says just as she’s gearing up for the next step. “Come on here for a second.”

“Mm?” Janis turns to look at her and butterflies flurry in Cady’s chest. No, not butterflies. Fireflies, she decides. She places her hand on Janis’ shoulder and tilts her chin to make her look at her.

“You trust me?”

“Yes…” Cady knows she means it, even if the scepticism in her voice would suggest otherwise.

“Then drop your crutches.”

“What?”

“Trust me,” she says. “I have an idea of how you can get up without them.”

“Okay…” She drags the word out for as long as her lungs will allow and lets the crutches fall to the ground. Cady stores them safely by the wall. They don’t want Janis’ parents finding them thrown around like that. “So what’s your big-oh my gosh!”

She has to sympathise with her here because it must have been a shock. She’s standing on minute, then hoisted onto Cady’s back the next. Her dad used to do it all the time with her, and that’s how she learned. Just grab the arm, pull her up and grab her legs to keep her steady. Simple, and thankfully Janis has the sense to grasp her arms together once she gets her bearings.

“Oh my gosh, Caddy,” she gasps. “What the heck?”

“This is how we get upstairs,” Cady explains. “I give you a piggy back.”

“I don’t need a piggy back,” she says.

“You want to take your chances with the crutches?” she asks. Janis is quiet for a while, her thumbs twirling around each other below Cady’s chin. Eventually, her cheek rests against hers and her heart beats against her spine.

“Fine.”

It doesn’t take long for her to start enjoying herself. Maybe it’s the lateness of the hour, or she just likes being carried around if it’s by Cady, but her breath tickles Cady’s ear as she laughs, her good leg flailing next to her. On Cady’s end, she’s equal parts glad her idea worked and enjoying Janis on her back, although she’s heavier than she looks, and her legs are burning by the time they get to the top.

Thank God her bedroom is on the second floor.

She deposits a giggly Janis on her bed and pulls off her jacket before pulling her hair into a ponytail, away from her sweaty face.

“You’re strong,” Janis says.

“Strong enough to carry you,” she replies, collapsing on the bed next to her to catch her breath, her heart hammering in her chest. Janis lays next to her and takes her hand, her thumb rubbing the back of her hand.

“Thanks for helping me,” she says after a while.

“You’re welcome,” she replies. Cady turns on her side and Janis does the same, so that she’s looking into the face she loves so much, all smiles and dimples, sparkling eyes and laugh lines. This is her best look, she thinks, and she strokes the side of her cheek. “Though if you really want to thank me… make me promise.” Janis nods, her face in complete earnest. “Don’t get into any more scrapes that involve breaking bones.”

“Can’t promise that,” she teases. Cady sighs and presses her finger into the dimple in her cheek.

“Yeah I know,” she says before kissing her, slowly and sweetly. There's no need to rush here. “And I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos make a happy author and a happy author makes fics and fics make a happy fandom :)


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